Vestas layoffs hit Windsor, Brighton plants, again

Feb. 21, 2013

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Coloradoan staff

Vestas laid off 10 percent of its 1,100 workers in Colorado on Thursday, with most of the cuts coming in Windsor and Brighton.

The Danish company had predicted the last-minute one-year renewal of the federal production tax credit last year would impact orders this year because of the time it takes between when an order is placed to when the project begins. To adjust its capacity to market demand for wind turbine orders this year, the company reduced its manufacturing workforce at its blade factories in Windsor and Brighton.

Eventually, the U.S. market will be stronger as a result of the PTC extension, Vestas officials said in a statement. “We are confident that orders will be placed and delivered from our U.S. factories.”

The company said it was disappointed it had to lay off many of its highly skilled employees in Brighton and Windsor.

The layoffs do not affect employees at Vestas’ nacelle factory in Brighton or the tower factory in Pueblo. In January, Vestas announced an agreement to supply towers for third parties for North America wind power projects, which means Vestas plans to add more than 100 jobs in Pueblo by the end of the first quarter.

The remaining production workers at the blade factories in Windsor and Brighton will move back to 40-hour workweeks as of Monday. Hours were temporarily reduced to 32 beginning in January.

Vestas’ four Colorado factories will continue to manufacture wind turbine components for the U.S. market, as well as export to Canada and Latin America.

Vestas has adopted a flexible business strategy in the U.S. and Canada during a period of changing market dynamics in the wind industry. Vestas will continue to scale up or down depending on business needs and market demands.

In a statement, U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet of Colorado blamed Congress for slow action on renewing the wind production tax credit.

“It’s frustrating to think about what this announcement means for hundreds of Colorado families, particularly because some of these jobs may have been saved if Congress had passed a wind PTC extension before the 11th hour, Bennet said. “Last-minute extensions prolong uncertainty for business — one of the main reasons why 2013 is projected to be a slower year for the wind industry. Congress needs to stop manufacturing these unnecessary crises and give these industries some predictability.”